THE WEEK >
Meetings
Homewood Public School District 153 Board of Education will meet at 7 p.m. Monday, Dec. 11, at the James Hart School media center, 18220 Morgan St.
- Find the agenda here.
- Highlights: The board will hold a public hearing on the tax levy. During the regular meeting to follow, the board will consider approving the tax levy and a new club at James Hart School.
Homewood Board of Trustees will meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 12, in village hall, 2020 Chestnut Road.
- Find the agenda here.
- Attend remotely here or dial 312-626-6799. ID 980 4907 6232, passcode 830183.
- Contact the board at [email protected] or by placing written comments in the drop box outside village hall. Comments submitted before 4 p.m. on the meeting date will be distributed to all village board members prior to the meeting.
- Highlights: The board will begin the meeting with a Truth in Taxation public hearing. On the consent agenda will be measures to amend the village’s administrative adjudication hearing process for building and code violations as enabled by a new state law, approve the transfer of $2 million from the general fund to the capital projects fund.
Flossmoor Public Library Board of Trustees will meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 12, in the library, 1000 Sterling Ave.
- Find the agenda here.
- Highlight: The board will consider adopting a strategic plan for 2024-26.
Homewood Planning and Zoning Commission will meet at 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 14, in village hall, 2020 Chestnut Road.
- The agenda will be posted here when it’s available.
Stuff to do
Monday, Dec. 11
Menorah Lighting. Flossmoor will host a menorah lighting ceremony at 5 p.m. in front of Park Place in Flossmoor Park, 2449 Flossmoor Road. The ceremony celebrating Hanukkah will be conducted at 5 p.m. each day through Dec. 15.
Robin Kelly telephone town hall. Congresswoman Robin Kelly will host a Telephone Town Hall at 7 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 11. She will be sharing updates on her work and answer constituents’ questions about how her office provide support. Sign up at https://robinkelly.house.gov/live.
Tuesday, Dec. 12
Santa driveway visits. The Homewood-Flossmoor Park District will provide Santa Claus visits to homes from 5 to 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 12 and Dec.13. Residents can take a photo with Santa and tell him what they want for Christmas. Available to H-F residents only. Cost is $20 per house visit. Register at bit.ly/3QCxmV8.
Ho Ho Ho-Flo Holiday Lights Ride. GoodSpeed Cycle will lead a bike ride from 6:30 to 8 p.m. starting from the shop at 2125 183rd St. in Homewood. Described as “a slow and social bike tour of Homewood and Flossmoor’s bestest, funnest and beautifulest holiday lights and decorations.” The cost is $3/person minimum cash donation to benefit the partner abuse support work of Anew (formerly South Suburban Family Shelter), or donate at bit.ly/40DYiZ6.
Wednesday, Dec. 13
“Catch the Twain, the Musical.” The Homewood Historical Society will feature Catch the Twain, the Musical at its regular meeting, 6:45 to 8:30 p.m. in the meeting room at Homewood Public Library, 17917 Dixie Highway. Warren Brown will portray Mark
Twain with Mark Dvorak accompanying him on banjo, including audience participation and sing-a-longs.
Thursday, Dec. 14
Holiday cookie decorating. Flossmoor Station Restaurant & Brewery, 1035 Sterling Ave., Flossmoor, will host a cookie decorating session with Panda Baby Cookies from 6 to 7:30 p.m.
“Harvey.” The Drama Group will present the comedy “Harvey,” a play about a man and his invisible rabbit. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday, Dec. 14, 15 and 16, with matinees at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 16, and Sunday, Dec. 17. All tickets are available by going to The Drama Group BookTix website dg.booktix.com, where patrons will be directed to set up an account with “The Drama Group-BookTix Box Office.” Tickets also can be purchased by calling the box office at 708-755-3444. Tickets are $25 for adults, $23 for senior citizens and members of the military, and $19 for students.
Saturday, Dec. 16
Santa’s Senior Helpers. From 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. H-F High School seniors and local senior citizens will help Santa with all of the letters he receives. Seniors will be partnered with seniors at Wiley’s Grill, 800 Kedzie Ave. in Flossmoor to help Santa out.
Sunday, Dec. 17
Skate with Santa. From 1 to 3 p.m. in the H-F Ice Arena, 777 Kedzie Ave. in Flossmoor. There will be free hot chocolate and photos with Santa. Admission is $6, skate rental is $4 and skate helpers are $5.
Christmas at the Brewery. Flossmoor Station Restaurant & Brewery, 1035 Sterling Ave., Flossmoor, will host Santa Claus, carriage rides, free hot chocolate, a magician and more. Seatings at 4 and 6:30 p.m. RSVP by calling 708-957-2739.
News & Notices
Puzzle swap. Flossmoor Public Library will again host a holiday season puzzle swap. Anyone who wants to participate should bring a puzzle to the library by Dec. 23 to receive a ticket to come back on Wednesday, Dec. 27 to get a new puzzle. Puzzles should be complete when dropped off at the library to verify there are no missing pieces.\
Sometimes mail gets through. The Village of Homewood noted on its Facebook page that not all residents received the winter edition of the Village Key, a news magazine that the village produces quarterly. At the Chronicle, we know how that goes. We have been sending a free copy of our monthly print edition by bulk mail to all carrier routes in Homewood and Flossmoor for more than six years. We’ve gotten reports throughout that time from residents who did not receive a copy.
Usually, when people let us know they didn’t get a paper, we take a copy to them. My first job in journalism was as a paper carrier for the Des Moines Register, so I don’t mind. I’m glad people care enough about getting their copy that they report when it’s missing.
In spite of the long history of not-quite-comprehensive delivery, we sometimes have breakthroughs. One of our regular readers, Ruth Ann Deppe, has gone for many months without receiving a paper in the mail. I’ve delivered copies to her a number of times.
Her copy of the Dec. 1 edition was delivered. By the postal carrier. Woo hoo!
It is important to celebrate the small victories. I don’t think our mail delivery problems are over, but I want to thank the postal service for getting Ruth Ann her paper this time.
Snowflake winners. Every year, Homewood Mayor Rich Hofeld asks residents to be on the lookout for one snowflake decoration on downtown utility poles that is not like the rest. Anyone who spots the unique snowflake can stop by village hall on Saturday morning and report where it is. Those who get it right can choose a coupon from one of three local businesses: Twisted Q, Juancho’s Tacos or Krispy Kreme.
< THE WEEK
- Performing arts: Spotlight Performance Academy answers community need to perform (Dec. 3).
- Homewood residents taking leading roles in Drama Group’s ‘Harvey’ (Dec. 4).
- Lessons from five decades teaching preschool (Dec. 4).
- Performing arts: 23 Miles South: Community theater with open arms (Dec. 4).
- Shop local gift guide 2023 (Dec. 4).
- Flossmoor announces Novoa as new finance director (Dec. 5).
- Flossmoor trustees reappoint Michael Cheney to Public Art Commission (Dec. 6).
- Performing arts: Homewood Arts Council reintroduces itself to community (Dec. 6).
- Flossmoor offers winter break babysitting safety training (Dec. 6).
- SD161 to begin hiring new assistant principals (Dec. 7).
- Holiday Lights in Homewood 2023 (Dec. 7).
- H-F High teachers preparing for Integrated Math in fall (Dec. 8).
- Smoke shop opens in Flossmoor Commons (Dec. 9).
- Flossmoor trustees vote to use county program to help save business condo (Dec. 9).
TRANSPORTATION
New bike rack. Flossmoor resident Jessica Groen, who regularly attends board meetings, addressed trustees and staff at the Dec. 4 meeting, “speaking tonight as a resident who’s grateful there’s a bike rack. I’ve been able to take my bike to the last two meetings. Thanks to all who planned that. I really appreciate the bike rack.”
(Eric Crump/H-F Chronicle)
The rack was added recently near the front door to village hall at 2800 Flossmoor Road.
I second her thanks to the village. When I go to village hall, I use the railing along the sidewalk on the north side of the building to lock my bike, but I always feel bad about it since doing so creates a potential impediment to someone with mobility issues who needs to use the railing.
Now I can be a better citizen by using the rack.
Speed enforcement tech. One problem with fighting the speeding problem on 183rd Street in Homewood is a matter of perception. The street looks a lot like a highway. Drivers’ fields of vision are filled with four wide, straight lanes. Our brains read the terrain and think, “Aha, this looks like an opportunity to get where I’m going fast.” Sprinkled infrequently in that field of vision there are little bitty indicators, speed limit signs, that attempt to contradict the pervasive message of the roadway itself. The road shouts “go fast” and the little signs make little peeps, lost in the roar, that say, “not too fast.”
It seems to be a losing battle, but NPR reported on Dec. 6 that there is technology that might give speed limits a better chance, intelligent speed assistance. According to the article, “There’s passive speed assistance, which notifies drivers when they’re speeding, but doesn’t force them to slow down. And there’s a second type known as active speed assistance that prevents drivers from exceeding the speed limit.”
I have a feeling drivers will be excessively lukewarm about that second option. But the article quotes Jennifer Homendy, the chair of the National Transportation Safety Board, as saying injuries and deaths from vehicle crashes are a public health crisis. She notes: “Nobody has a right to speed.”
The implementation of intelligent speed assistance is voluntary, and manufacturers are not eager to install a feature customers aren’t demanding, so drivers probably don’t have much to worry about at the moment.
DEMOCRACY WATCH
Commissioner Monica Gordon’s priorities. The Cook County 5th District commissioner spent time Saturday, Dec. 9, in Homewood village hall during Mayor Rich Hofeld’s weekly “Meet the Mayor” office hours. She represents a sliver of Homewood and about half of Flossmoor.
Gordon said her main focus is on transportation. She serves as vice chair of the Transportation Committee. But as she’s gotten to know her district’s needs, other areas have emerged as well, including battling gun violence, economic development, rebuilding water infrastructure and improving health care resources.
She said she recognizes that the various challenges the district faces are interconnected and can’t be addressed in isolation.
For example, one goal she has is to help develop a level 2 trauma center in the South Suburbs. Currently, the closest trauma center is the level 1 center at Christ Advocate Hospital in Oak Lawn. That’s an example of how transportation and health care collide. Ambulances rushing trauma patients to Oak Lawn have to cross a number of train tracks and can encounter long freight trains at times when minutes matter.
I asked whether she’d gotten any response to her letter appealing to the Chicago Bears to consider relocating to Country Club Hills. The team has been considering a number of options to its current home at Soldier Field in Chicago, including a new site in Arlington Heights or building a new stadium on a Soldier Field parking lot.
She said the team has not responded, but neither has she given up on the pitch. An NFL stadium in the Southland would be “transformational,” she said, and pointed to the impact on Inglewood, California, from the development of Sofi Stadium, which hosted the 2022 Super Bowl.
Monica Gordon’s contact information
Main Office: 118 N. Clark St., Room 567, Chicago.
District Office: 3039B W. 159th Street, Markham, IL 60428.
Phone: 312-603-6381
Email: [email protected]